BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2731
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 2731
(O'Donnell) - As Amended March 15, 2016
SUBJECT: Vehicles: Terminal Island Freeway: special permits
SUMMARY: Prescribes the manner in which trucks are to be
weighed in a designated heavy container corridor near the Ports
of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Prescribes, according to state and federal law, maximum gross
weight limits for vehicles and vehicle combinations using
public highways.
2)Authorizes the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to issue overweight truck permits on the following
designated roadways (heavy container corridor) to allow for
the movement of shipping containers from the Ports of Long
Beach and Los Angeles into the City of Carson:
a) A 3.66-mile portion of State Route (SR) 47 and SR 103
known as Terminal Island Freeway, between Willow Street in
AB 2731
Page 2
the City of Long Beach and Terminal Island in the City of
Long Beach and the City of Los Angeles; and,
b) A 2.4-mile portion of SR 1 between Blinn Avenue in the
City of Los Angeles and Harbor Avenue in the City of Long
Beach.
1)Conditions the issuance of overweight truck permits upon the
cities of Carson, Long Beach, and Los Angeles adopting
ordinances or resolutions in support of the heavy container
corridor.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Existing law generally limits vehicles and vehicle
combinations, such as tractor-trailer combinations, to a gross
weight of no more than 80,000 pounds. Caltrans or a local
authority may issue a permit to transport oversized or
overweight loads on highways under its control. Existing law
also authorizes Caltrans permit overweight trucks that exceed
the maximum gross weight limits to travel on the heavy container
corridor. Before Caltrans can issue a permit, however, the
cities of Carson, Long Beach, and Los Angeles must adopt related
resolutions or ordinances allowing these vehicles on specified
local roads. The permitted vehicles must:
1)Be used to transport intermodal cargo containers that are
moving international commerce;
2)Not exceed a gross weight of 95,000 pounds; and,
3)Meet weight limits that Caltrans determines.
The heavy weight corridor is a relatively short segment of state
highway and allows freight to be transferred between the port
AB 2731
Page 3
docks and warehousing areas immediately adjacent to the ports.
The corridor runs through portions of the cities of Carson, Long
Beach, and Los Angeles, which, in addition to the California
Highway Patrol, have law enforcement authority in their
respective jurisdictions along the corridor.
Unfortunately, according to the author, differing enforcement
methods amongst the cities in the way they measure truck weights
has led to confusion for users of the heavy container corridor,
resulting in fines, penalties, and uneven enforcement between
the jurisdictions. The author introduced AB 2731 to eliminate
this confusion by providing a consistent methodology for
enforcement, thereby enhancing "the seamless movement of goods
throughout the port complex."
Apparently, among the four enforcement entities, only the City
of Los Angeles used a method of weighing trucks that was
different from the other agencies. Last August, the Los Angeles
City Council approved a motion to address this disparity by
amending its ordinance to direct trucks in the overweight
corridor to be weighed consistent with surrounding
jurisdictions. However, according to the author's office,
despite the amended ordinance, the City of Los Angeles continues
to weighs truck in a manner unlike the other jurisdictions in
the corridor; hence, he believes, the need for AB 2731.
Previous legislation: AB 2438 (Karnette), Chapter 1037,
Statutes of 1994, originally authorized the issuance of
overweight permits for the Terminal Island Freeway, until 1998.
SB 839 (Karnette), Chapter 358, Statutes of 1997, extended for
five years, from 1998 to 2003, the authority to issue special
permits for overweight vehicles on the Terminal Island Freeway.
SB 2072 (Karnette), Chapter 229, Statutes of 2002, removed the
AB 2731
Page 4
sunset date on the authority to issue overweight permits,
thereby extending the authority indefinitely.
AB 1128 (Furutani), Chapter 298, Statutes of 2011, extended the
roadway segment that could be used by overweight trucks.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
AB 2731
Page 5